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I am certain, however, you will appreciate the HL's quality, fit, finish, power and economy.
Happy HL'ing to all.
DETROIT (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp. is recalling more than 41,000 Highlander sport utility vehicles because of a potential problem with their brakes.
The problem, announced by federal regulators in a monthly list of automotive recalls, stems from potential leakage of air into the Highlander's braking system, which can lead to increased stopping distances and heightened risks of a crash.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said 41,169 of the SUVs from the 2001 model year were included in the recall.
Anyone else in this same situation?
This is the release of the July recall reports, issued 10/4 - Nothing new here. See www.nhtsa.gov, announcements. http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/nhtsa/announce/press/pressdisplay.cfm?year=2001&filename=pr48-01.html
Given the current state of world affairs, I will strongly consider the mpg of a vehicle before I buy. Gas is reasonable now, but what will it be in a year or two?
Hope that the new CR-V shows up soon, I think that it is to be delivered mid Nov. Do wish that Toyota offered a 4 cyl with the limited package, I would pick one up tomorrow if they did.
Olivemarie
Overall I don't think the CRV and HL can be compared to each other - very different vehicles (size, AWD, etc.).
Be sure to look at Consumers Reports writeup on the CRV, and drive one a while and check out the driving position.
The HL is a major upgrade from the CRV. Maybe the new CRV will improve upon previous years. I owned a 97 CRV, first year production and there were lots of problems the first year (as there were the first year of the Honda Odyssey minivan).
I'm glad I bought my 2001 HL and I've enjoyed it with NO problems. Now on 2,600 miles and love driving it.
Hope you enjoy whichever vehicle you select.
One major factor for the HL is the availability of VSC [vehicle skid control], whereas the CRV does not offer this.
Steve
VSC is nice but it goes off whenever you step on the brake. In an emergency situation I always stomp on the brake and ABS takes over. ABS I think prevents skid as well and reduces speed at the same time. I think VSC is more valuable for a hot rod driver who like to zip in and out of traffic, reckless types who doesn't have the good sense to slow down into sharp turns. BTW, even VSC has limitations.
VSCs are hard to come by on Highlander, you have to buy the most expensive Limited MSRPed at $34k or highier. That's 10k more than an 02CRV without it.
The HL is much more quieter and has better acceleration. It is more plush and I feel safer in it, due to its size. It is a joy for long trips, also fine for short errands, but with the CRV, you can zip to and fro with more agility. The HL is just ok for sharp turns and emergency maneuvers.
Again, different vehicles for different purposes.
Totally agree that to get the VSC package is too expensive. Peter
The other time for advantage is icy roads. It compensates for sliding and skidding quite credibly.
http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/safety/articles/45992/article.html
Also, this stability control video clip may also be of interest to you: Click here
Drew
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Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards
Drew
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Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards
As always, thanks for your help.
Ron
Ron
But my wife wanted the car, so we had them re-do the paperwork and bought it for $31,860, $1750 off the sticker. We got a 2001 FWD 3.0L V6 Limited with leather, VSC, upgrade stereo, side air bags, moonroof, tow prep. Midnight Green with Ivory leather.
I didn't want the 2002 because of the console. We liked the pass-thru to the back seat. So far, everything's fine. It has excellent pickup, great brakes, and a feel of quality and comfort. Looking forward to taking trips in it, and we plan to keep it for 10 years.
Irishcasey - We like the Port-installed-Option ("PIO") leather. In our case, the distributor is SE Toyota and the Port is Jacksonville, FL. Other distributors may have different leather and the factory leather is different yet, though I haven't seen it other than in pictures. The SE PIO leather is perforated, seems to be of decent quality and is also available in grey, which I believe is either limited to certain exterior colors of unavailable from the factory. I suspect that if you want leather with a 4cyl, you'll have to either factory order, as we did, or divert and incoming vehicle and have your dealer instruct the distributor to "add" leather at the port, which can be done, at least at Jax. Doubtful you'll find a 4cyl equipped that way otherwise. Hope that helps.
Kdubs -- the 2002 center console, non-limited, is trimmed with the grey plastic that the rest of the dash is and the covers to the ashtray, and cupholder tray are done in the carbon-fiber look stuff. It looks good, bottom-line. probably would also look decent in the woodgrain look of the Limited as well. A huge improvement, overall, versus the 2001, unless you really wanted the walk-thru ability.
Osoriob - the Step Bars were also Jax/SE Toyota PIO. $425 sticker, $240 invoice. They are stainless steel, tubeular and with rubber step inserts for each door. Realitically, they are mostly for looks (kinda of reinforces the SUV concept, versus those who may say it is a glorified station wagon), though my kids use them and they are helpful for washing the roof and changing the lightbuld in your garage door opener. Downside is that they get dirty and you have to step out to avoid them if you have slacks and/or care.
On a side note, my wife managed to pull a whopping 16mpg on our second tank of gas (V6, 2wd, Miami city traffic).
Cliffy, I think Toyota changed something in the radio for 2002, because after trying everything possible, the base radio we have will not perform the mid-range "trick".
Everything else is great. Dealer still hasn't cashed my check yet, 12 days later. Still getting used to how well the doors seal and having to really push them to get them to close all of the way. My '98 Cobra doesn't have that problem...
As mention by drew the MB's ESP system does work under braking, which is made by Bosch.
This is what I copy/paste from Wolfgang's ML Page, and the link is http://www.whnet.com/4x4/abs.html#ESP ,you can even go to the web site of Bosch's ESP simulation from the link.
"Does ESP work while the vehicle is braked?
To roughly estimate the ESP effectiveness in this case the ESP requested brake force should be added to the brake force acting at the individual wheel in a vector diagram:
ESP forces when braking
ESP works quite nicely during braking. But what happens during full force braking inside the ABS regime when no additional force can be applied without saturation? ESP will then momentarily reduce the brake force on the other three wheels, just enough to produce a realigning momentum. "
The VSC may not be 100% the same as the ESP, but the clip that drew provided with the BMW shown should be using the Bosch product too. Which when look into the specifications how the two systems work, they are similar.
Hope this will help anyone to make the decision to buy or not to buy the VSC, no offense to anyone.
2001 HL Limited V6 AWD with
SR, BE, TO, UQ, VD, LL, EJ, LA, HD, V2 & WL.
Indigo Ink / Ivory Leather
Vehicle Price - $31,600.00
Also purchased 100K warranty for $600.00
So far very pleased with vehicle, but have noticed that you can hear the gas sloshing in the tank when full. Thanks for all of your help!
Drove 600 miles last Sunday, so I'm past the 1,000 mile break-in and absolutely love this vehicle! Especially the driver's seat. I have some minor lower back problems (lumbar 5); and ordered the HL's power seat to use the power lumbar support. It works - as I expected - and much better than the manual system in the '87 Camry LE I owned years ago.
However, during the trip, I found even the 02's suffer from the dreaded "glovebox rattle". I thought there were some postings about solutions on this site, but couldn't find it...thought it was here and referred to a dealer bulletin. Perhaps it was only a suggested fix on this site. Anyone remember? Thanks.
My dealer noted that the '02 Camry has a sub-woofer option - perhaps that might solve some of the audio problems on the HL. Has anyone seen aftermarket subs that work with the standard HL audio system?
alimin
Which is the air pressure problem do to the lack of ventilation in the rear cargo area.
alimin, 2002 bluestone, non-limited, V-6, 4WD.
They're on there real tight and I don't want to damage anything. And if you did upgrade, what speakers did you get?
Thanks in advance!
Gary
'01 2WD NONLtd. HL Millennium Silver
If you're just using it around the city I would rec. the 4cyl without hesitation.
p.s gas millage (mostly in the mountains avg. about 21mpg), if driving in flat areas then expect better mpg.
http://www.tirerack.com
The other option is to wait for snow and try spinning out in an empty parking lot.